Former NFL Coache Jon Gruden have a laugh while attending an NFL training camp session ten at the Miller Electric Center, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jon Gruden's Jaguars Visit Is Full Circle For Liam Coen

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 5:01 PM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a special visitor at Tuesday's training camp practice at the Miller Electric Center.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden took to the practice field in Duval, bringing things full circle for new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.

"Coach Gruden and I were neighbors in Tampa, so we lived in the same neighborhood and that was great," Coen said on Tuesday.

"I actually ran into him a few times last year in Tampa and right before I actually got hired here, I ran into him and we were having a conversation about that, so it's great to have him here.

No, Coen never coached with Gruden, but he is adjacent to the Gruden tree. He is a part of the NFL's most famous current tree, the Sean McVay family -- and its roots are connected right to Gruden and his influence.

"We're talking some ball. A lot of the evolution of our offense comes from him in so many ways," Coen said.

"When Sean [Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay] was with him in Tampa, Sean was in Washington with his brother [former Washington Commanders Head Coach Jay Gruden], and there's a lot of similarities. It's pretty cool.”

Gruden has been away from the NFL for a number of years now, but he has been able to stay close the league thanks to relationships with several coaching staffs.

Now, the Jaguars and Coen are one of those teams.

"Hopefully I'm not done,"Gruden told reporters while attending Detroit Lions training camp, per the Detroit Free Press. "I'm about to make a comeback. I'm working hard to maybe get one more shot, but hopefully some of these guys that fell off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me because I'm looking for a job."

"I don't care if I coach at Jones Junior High," he continued. "I'm going to coach again. I'm still coaching. I'm just not on a team officially, but I do have some private assignments I work on, and I wear some gear when I'm watching the games that nobody knows about who I'm pulling for."